H. B. H. Orpen-Palmet having most heroically endured the traditional weight of Shanghai'svaledictory hospitality, formally assumes the bowler hat and steps on board the liner] which is to take him Home. As Commandant of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps, Colonel Orpen-Palmer—to give him the rank by which he has long been known in here for over three year He has held a post which ha no parallel elsewhere in the world. To command a force of different nationalities, to keep that force in the ' corporate cohesion of a single unit, is not: merely an experience, it con stitutes a feat the successful accomplishment of which implies the possession of more than the usual amount of military enthusiasm and personal tact. Colonel Orpen-Palmer has had few serious problems to deal with in his term of command; that does not indicate the absence of need for any -particular vigilance. Like the good player who makes his shots appear ridiculously easy because he is always in the right posi to make them, Colonel Orpen Palmer has imperturbably been able to make his Command a affair of rear simplicity by the process of looking ahead and ving potential difficulties of their asperities.
During the past few weeks the retiring Commandant has been the recipient of many tokens of esteem; if there is one feature of his work by which he would like to be remembered more than another, it is probably his keen attention to the maintenance of a special reserve. He has strongly insisted on the import-ande here of securing every man of whatever age for enrolment tion to service either on the. ground of past personal records or because the emergence of major crisis is an improbability has been consistently discourage ed by him. "The plain fact has been' frequently emphasized in his speeches and orders: if the emergency does come the man for whom no place exists on the reserve and for whom con sequently the necessary' equipment and orders have not been provided becomes merely "att Trvitating superfluity." The stof confronted by the task of working at high pressure will eer-tainly find it. convenient to dismiss such a man to the mon-combatant category where, me cidentally, his only value is that he is less of a nuisance there than as an unclassified supernumerry to the men for whom real work exists.
The special reserve has been built up by the Commandant's persistence; that it should be much extended he would be the first to agree and" perhaps in memory of him some effort in that direction. may" be made [when the new regime under his Successor, who arrives on Tue gels under way. For the prevent it is desirable to. place on record the debt which Shan hai owes to Brigadier-Gen Orpen-Palmec and to Mts. Orpen-Palmer who has. fully played her part in' the life of the community. Good luck and much happiness will be invoked fon their account by their hosts of friends here. England is not very safe place just now for iller-Generals; they are able to be caught up by master. ful creators of new—political parties of Uncertain complexion And turned. into superman, at the shortest "possible notice General Orpen-Palmer is. pro Dably too wary to be easily the victim of this passing craze. He will not be politically butchered to make a. Fleet Street holiday and, judging from the matte of-tactness of his handling of 1] the problems of Shanghai, he has am ingrained dislike of the superman role. At. all event there can be no harm in ex. pressing the hope that that and Ail other. dangers. will Successfully avoided by the ood friend and commandant Whom the Shanghai. Volunte Corps and those who, fortune of sex, of disability oF of their" own' remissness, are outside that charmed cfrele, will bid'a regretful but sympathetic farewell to-morrow.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.